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| Entry by 347 | 13.04.01, 04:41 CET |
I know not if there's too little basis democracy, but I know there's too little culture.
I am french and lived 3 1/2 years in Germany. My colleagues had learnt french in school and english and latin and grec but not one of them could make an international joke or understand one. They all were astonished when I understood new german words that come from latin or when I explicated some words they used every day that comes from french or from latin or grec.
I had studied german for 11 years (incredible, not ?) in school and I still didn't know useful words like "es kommt darauf an" "es fällt mir ein" "ich denke darüber nach" "Muskelkater" "dickköpfig" etc..
I didn't know that when you arrive in a german town you have to register at the bürgersamt - for me as french it was like coming in prison. But the germans didn't know either that it is anders in France. I never had heard spoken of a Steuerkarte (tax card) and I didn't have the smallest idea of how the german social security functions. Do you know that checks are very rare in germany and visa card also ? They do überweisungen (virements) for everything. They pay something like 12 DM (6 Euro) a month for their bank, yes ! For a french it is just inimaginable to have to pay to give my money. I use my visa card for everything - 5 F for a metro ticket. In Germany you can't do that, you have to have bargeld by you. I was always afraid to carry 300 or 500 DM (150 or 250 euro) in my pocket, but the germans found it normal.
Now I came back to France and I tried to sing in a chorale and they sung a piece of Brahms and not one of them could german, so a canadian who was there explained them the pronounciation (he did not understand the words but he thought he could pronounce it) and he told them : when it's written "mit" say "met". I think it is just a scandal to have a canadian from the other end of the world better "know" german than 10 frenchs of the nachbar land.
So I say it's much to early for politic, let's first learn the basic things about each other : lingua, usages, life of every day.
Germans don't like goat cheese, they say it smells like piss. I'll never, you hear me, NEVER allow somebody who says that to vote for the safety rules on my market place.
So OK for basis democracy ONLY IF it means local politic. NOT OK for basis democracy if it means just one chef for everybody, just one rule for everybody. |
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